UlyssesIn80-Reading James Joyce Masterpiece in 80 Days

This week on Ulysses in 80, we're joined by Patrick Hastings, creator of The Ulysses Guide, one of today's most trusted companions for readers making their way through James Joyce's Ulysses.
Patrick has a remarkable ability to make Joyce's masterpiece feel welcoming without diminishing its richness or complexity. Throughout this conversation, he shares practical insights, reading strategies, and the quiet confidence that readers don't need to understand everything to enjoy the journey. His approach reminds us that Ulysses is meant to be experienced as much as it is studied.
Together, we explore why the novel continues to reward both first-time readers and those returning to it year after year. Patrick also reflects on creating The Ulysses Guide, the importance of curiosity over certainty, and why reading Joyce is ultimately an invitation into conversation rather than a search for definitive answers.
At the heart of this conversation is a simple idea that has become central to Ulysses in 80: Ulysses is for everyone. Whether you're opening the book for the first time or returning after decades, Patrick reminds us that there is no single "right" way to read Joyce—only your way.
Hosted by Cliona O'Farrelly and Mark Sanford Gross.
Visit ulyssesin80.com for daily readings, podcasts, resources, and a worldwide community discovering that Ulysses really is for everyone.
Ulysses in 80
A global reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses, moving through the book together over eighty days.
📧 Contact: readingulyssesin80@gmail.com

The 2026 reading is June 1 to August 19th.

Professor Catherine Flynn of the University of California, Berkeley, joins Ulysses in 80 to explore the Nausicaa episode of James Joyce's Ulysses—the chapter that sparked one of the most famous censorship battles in literary history.
Editor of The Cambridge Centenary Ulysses and co-host of the U22 podcast, Catherine combines deep scholarship with an engaging and welcoming approach to Joyce. In this conversation, she shares insights into Nausicaa, reflects on why Ulysses continues to reward readers with each return, and reads a memorable passage from the novel.
Hosted by Mark Sanford Gross in Anchor Bay, California, and Cliona O'Farrelly in Dublin, Ulysses in 80 is a global reading journey through James Joyce's Ulysses—one day, one page, one conversation at a time.
Learn more at ulyssesin80.com.
Ulysses in 80
A global reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses, moving through the book together over eighty days.
📧 Contact: readingulyssesin80@gmail.com

The 2026 reading is June 1 to August 19th.

Cyclops. History. The Life of Ulysses.
This week on Ulysses in 80, we welcome Professor Robert Spoo, Princeton University, for a wide-ranging conversation recorded as we discuss the Cyclops episode of James Joyce's Ulysses.
Together, we explore the remarkable life of Ulysses beyond its pages—history, the people who shaped its journey, and the enduring influence of one of the world's most extraordinary novels. Along the way, Robert shares insights into Joyce, the historical world surrounding the novel, and why Ulysses continues to inspire readers more than a century after its publication.
As always, the conversation returns us to the book itself. At the close of Cyclops, after all the force, hatred, prejudice, and division, Leopold Bloom quietly offers another answer:
Love.
Hosted by Mark Sanford Gross and Cliona O'Farrelly as part of the global Ulysses in 80 project.
For more information, daily readings, podcasts, and upcoming conversations, visit ulyssesin80.com.

For more information, daily readings, podcasts, and upcoming conversations, visit ulyssesin80.com.

Ulysses in 80
A global reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses, moving through the book together over eighty days.
📧 Contact: readingulyssesin80@gmail.com

The 2026 reading is June 1 to August 19th.

Professor Matthew Campbell of the University of York returns to Ulysses in 80 for a warm and engaging conversation as readers arrive in the heart of the Wandering Rocks episode.
Matthew brings the same curiosity, wit, and generosity that readers have come to enjoy in his previous visits to Ulysses in 80. The conversation wanders through Wandering Rocks, poetry, music, teaching, and the pleasures of reading Joyce slowly, always returning to the ordinary readers who keep the book alive.
Along the way, the discussion explores how Ulysses continues to surprise even after a lifetime of reading. Matthew reflects on the rhythms of Joyce's Dublin, memorable characters, unexpected discoveries, and the joy of following curiosity wherever the novel leads.
Recorded live on Zoom as part of the 2026 Ulysses in 80 global reading community, this conversation has been lightly edited for podcast listening while preserving the spontaneity and spirit of the original discussion.
For more information about Ulysses in 80, including daily reading schedules, guest conversations, podcasts, and resources, visit ulyssesin80.com.
Ulysses in 80
A global reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses, moving through the book together over eighty days.
📧 Contact: readingulyssesin80@gmail.com

The 2026 reading is June 1 to August 19th.

In this special Readers' Pub episode of Ulysses in 80, the guest speakers are the readers themselves.
Participants from around the world gather for an open conversation that ranges from Joyce and language to Judaism, Gorgonzola sandwiches, and the unexpected connections that emerge when readers meet one another with curiosity and candor.
More than a discussion of Ulysses, this episode explores reading slowly, embracing complexity, and discovering that some of the most meaningful conversations begin without knowing where they will lead.
The episode closes with a brief excerpt from the poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé—a quiet reminder that not every word needs to be fully understood to be deeply felt.
Ulysses in 80 is hosted by Cliona O'Farrelly and Mark Sanford Gross.
Reformatted and adapted as a podcast from The Readers' Pub gathering of June 17, 2026.
Produced in Anchor Bay, California.
For more on Ulysses in 80, visit ulyssesin80.com.
Ulysses in 80
A global reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses, moving through the book together over eighty days.
📧 Contact: readingulyssesin80@gmail.com

The 2026 reading is June 1 to August 19th.